Forward and Reply to Emails Without Lifting a Finger

Process Automation

Jun 5

Do you receive emails that you send to a coworker or employee? Are there some emails that you give the same response to every time? If so, you can use Outlook rules to automate these processes so you no longer have to worry about them!

In our organization, we have a single “info” email that receives generic emails from our website, as well as many of our software emails and other relevant information. By using Outlook rules, we’re able to set relevant emails to forward to the correct people, as well as auto-reply to any inquiries we may receive.

If you’re looking to automate forwarding/replies, there are some common conditions you may choose from:

Sent From
Marked as importance
Marked as sensitivity
With specific words in the body
With specific words in the message header
With specific words in the recipient’s address
With specific words in the sender’s address

Once you’ve selected the conditions you want to act on, there are a few different actions you may choose from:

Forward it to people or public group
Forward it to people or public group as an attachment
Redirect it to people or public group
Have server reply using a specific message
Reply using a specific template

Automating forwarding and replies ensures timely communication with the sender of the email, in addition to easing the burden on the individual. Being smart about applying these rules can save any company or individual a lot of time and effort.

To further optimize your email, you may want to consider organizing emails you want to keep, filtering unwanted emails, and/or prioritizing your emails. If you have a unique situation, you may want to consider some of these lesser-known applications.